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Storylines Gavin Bishop Award shortlist

The shortlist for the Storylines Gavin Bishop Award was announced a couple of months ago. The winner will be announced at the Storylines Margaret Mahy Day.

The shortlist is:

• Sara Acton (Christchurch)
• Heather Arnold (Auckland)
• Harriet Bailey (Wellington)
• Stephanie Junovich (Christchurch)
• Gary Venn (Hamilton)
• Neroli Welliams (Christchurch)

You can see their artwork on the Random House website.

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The Joy Cowley Writing Workshop in Auckland

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Vote for Storylines!

Storylines is one of six shortlisted charities with Sovereign Sunshine in March. Your vote counts! 

Anyone from across New Zealand can register on the site and vote for Storylines during March 2010.The number of votes will tally on the screen, and voting will close on Wednesday 31 March at midday. Sovereign will announce the winning charity on the website on Wednesday 31 March, along with the winner of their voter prize, which all voters go in the draw to win. They will also post a news story which will announce each charity's vote counts and proportions of the total vote / donations.

Register and vote here. 

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Storylines farewells a friend

Jo Noble, a lifelong advocate and promoter of books of children has died. Jo established Jabberwocky Children’s Bookshop in Blockhouse Bay, later moving the shop to Balmoral with Judy Keestra. She also produced various magazines including Jabbering About Books, which became Well Read, and the annual New Zealand Children’s Books in Print. She edited anthologies including 100 New Zealand Poems for Children and 30 New Zealand Stories for Children, both were Storylines Notable Books. In 1993, Jo was awarded the CLA Award for Services to Children’s Literature (now the Storylines Betty Gilderale Award). In 2003 Jo became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children’s literature. Jo was a member of various Children’s Literature Association and Storylines committees over the years, including being the year book editor, and a member of the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award judging panel. Jo’s knowledge and expertise in children’s literature was extensive, and always available to us. We will miss you Jo. Jo's profile is available here.

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IBBY news

The Hans Christian Andersen Award winners are due to be announced any day, followed by the IBBY stand at the Bolonga Book Fair.

The 32nd IBBY Congress will be held at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 8-12 September.

IBBY Haiti has been meeting to discuss their plan of action. Last year they organised an IBBY Children in Crisi project, following floods in Gonaives. Now they are identifying the camps they can work in. One of the undamaged printing presses is willing to reproduce some books to help in bibliotherapy sessions. IBBY will be sending funds to help in the re-printing, as well as training and support for staff. Banks are beginning to accept international payments. IBBY Haiti will be working with other organisations including UNICEF and the Catholic Relief Services.

Visit the IBBY site for more news.

I just happened to be in Wellington for work, just in time to catch a few events at the New Zealand International Arts Festival, New Zealand Post Readers and Writers Week. On Friday, skillful time management allowed me time to see Once Upon a Time – Neil Gaiman and Margo Lanagan in conversation with Kate De Goldi.

This was a wide-ranging talk – as could be expected by this ‘beaut brace’ (as described by Kate). Neil began by reading from chapter seven of The Graveyard Book – after commenting that flesh-coloured mikes screw the face up for the audience – ‘does he have a wart?’ Neil explained The Graveyard Book as like The Jungle Book, except Bod is raised by dead people in a graveyard, rather than animals in a jungle. Margo read from Tender Morsels, when Muddy Annie sent Collaby Dought through to a personal heaven – just not his.

There was a discussion about what makes a children’s book – or young adult book – and whether they knew the audience when they wrote. Neil’s opinion is that he knows whether it is exclusively for adults, only because it had stuff in it that would bore kids – stuff you have to have been knocking around the world a while to understand. For Margo, the reality that she was originally published as a young adult author did mean that she had made some concessions, knowing that she would probably continue to be published in the young adult market.

Neil told the story of the publication of Coraline – basically, it was published as a children’s book thanks to his agent’s daughter lying. His agent didn’t think it was a children’s book – because it is so terrifying. Neil asked her to read it to her daughters, both loved it. It was published. When the musical of Coraline came out, Neil was sitting beside the girls and thanked them. One admitted that she had been terrified, but wanted to know what happened, and so didn’t let on.

Both discussed the value of fantasy and science-fiction. For Margo, it’s like looking at stars – you have to look slightly to the side for clarity. So fantasy is the real world, slightly askew, but seen clearly. Kate described the use of animals, gods, etc, as a safety feature – that they put some distance between the reader and the character. Later in the talk, Margo said it was when you were writing action in the wing of a house that, structurally, couldn’t happen – and you leave it there – that’s when it tips over into fantasy.

Neil described the sort of kids’ books he saw as a reviewer in the 80s – ‘proper’ books. There had to be a boy, living in a tower block in London, whose big brother had trouble with heroin. The boy had to get in trouble with the law in chapter five, but only a little, and he would think about having sex (but not really have it). And there would be a noble teacher, who would explain the error of his ways and set him on the right path. At this point Kate said ‘I think I wrote some of those’.

Both admitted they were lucky and able to write what they wanted. And they were published and people liked their work. Oh, and they find their most ‘inspiring’ times in those instances – and places – when you can’t physically escape, or read a book, and so your mind goes somewhere else to escape. For Neil, this is times like fifth-grade performances. For Margo, long drives.

When asked by a member of the audience, Neil said that he must write something for boys – similar to Blueberry Girl – and a picture book that give dad’s a fair go.

On Saturday, after a trip to Pompeii (well, Te Papa), it was to The Opera House for The Arrival. I hadn’t had a chance to see it at the Auckland Festival last year, so grabbed the opportunity. Like the book (by Shaun Tan) and the experiences depicted, this live-action version was surreal, engaging, suitably confusing and emotional. It lived up to everything people had said.

Saturday night and it was the Town Hall Talk: Neil Gaiman, again with Kate De Goldi. Kate introduced Neil as the ‘Amadeus Mozart of post-modern fiction’. To wolf-whistles and cheers, Neil approached the lectern, said ‘hello’ and introduced his readings. This time he read three poems. One, ‘Locks’, has been published (in Fragile Things), one was written a month ago for an anthology of sea stories – scary and unsettling sea stories (hence the English seaside town setting). The third was written 10 days ago and this was its first performance in front of live human beings. 

• On GK Chesterton. a result of Neil’s school library – endowed in 1912 and 1928 – hence his becoming an unwitting specialist in Edward literature at the age of 12. 
• On commissioned stories: art needs boundaries. Art needs walls, needs boundaries to chafe at. Boundaries focus your head in a particular way. 
• On Shakespeare: Shakespeare was writing for actors. He wrote that speech because the actor who last spoke needs a costume change, and it’s going to take four minutes. So, Shakespeare was filling in time.
• On CS Lewis and Narnia: both Neil and Kate missed the Christian over-tones. But, on reading them aloud to his daughters, Neil realised that his love of Greek mythology came from Lewis, and his introduction to horror creatures. That Lewis put everything he loved in his books, and that Neil does the same.
• On questions: they are short, interrogative, end in a question mark, and are capable of being answered.
• On procrastinating: not only can Neil put off until tomorrow, he can put off until Thursday. He can also put off deciding whether or not to put something off until Thursday (at least, that’s what I think he said, the audience was in hysterics at this time).
• His travelling book: re-reading Journey to the West – about a monk, who is a monkey, a pig and a dragon pretending to be a horse, travelling to India to bring the teaching of Buddha to China.
• Advice to aspiring writers: Write. No, there’s no secret. But he feels as if the aspirants think he’s hiding something. Something like: slaughter a goat at midnight. If you hear three knocks on the door, ignore it. If you hear five, open the door. On the other side will be Stephen King, JK Rowling and myself in capes. But no, really, just write. Finish it. Get it published. Write more. There is nothing like seeing your words in print to realise how bad a writer you are.
• On Dave McKean: they have worked together for 25-26 years. So, Neil sends him the words. And Dave sends him back the illustrators – and Neil thinks ‘I didn’t think it would look like that’. 
• Favourite mythological creature: basilisk / cockatrice.
• Favourite mythology: Norse gods. Partly because they’re so grumpy and so incredibly human.
• Favourite myth: Loki’s flyting, when Loki gets drunk and insults the other gods. 

Storylines members only!